We had a really good week!!

In my opinion this has been the best week we have had in a long time! I didn't have any job interviews or appointments with lawyers. The kids were healthy, and on my days off we were able to just hang out and enjoy each other!!

On Monday we went to the fair. We got there early before many things were even open, and stayed for a little over 3 hours. It was really fun....even if it was at times overwhelming and exhausting! We first checked out many of the animals in the barns.

Zayden was adamant about riding a pony, so we did that next! His pony's name was Starbucks, and he rode him all by himself, and really loved it. He later said it was his favorite part of the fair.

Ivy also rode a pony for the first time ever!! Her horse's name was Hank, but I wasn't about to step far away enough from Ivy to take a picture of the horse, but she also really enjoyed the pony ride.

Next we went to the Farm area, which was really fun! Z was totally into it, and Ivy just kind of wandered around following us. Zayden got to harvest vegetables and fruit, plant some "seeds", and then he took his produce to the market where he was given money. He then took his money to the store, and bought food for he and Ivy. It was great!!

Zayden also enjoyed milking a "cow"

And he LOVED feeding the goats. I tried to get Ivy to give a goat a carrot, but she tried to eat the carrot herself. ;)

Zayden also enjoyed climbing on all the big tractors! Luckily he has a very easy going sister who was happy to watch him enjoy himself!

He also rode a couple of the fair rides, and enjoyed that as well. We had a nice little lunch with some junk food and some healthier options, and I got my favorite....fried green tomatoes. It was a really great time!!

Then on Wednesday my friend Kristy and her daughter Addison came over to play. They even stayed for lunch, which was nice because I still do enjoy eating meals with adults on occasion! Here is a picture of Addison with my two.

In the evenings we usually go outside and play, and sometimes talk to some neighbors. One night when we were out I was chatting with a neighbor who was weedeating. She put her weedeater down, and Ivy decided it looked like a good ridetoy. She thinks everything is fun to ride. So, she got on. Z likes to do whatever Ivy does, so he got on too. Maybe next year they should have weedeaters to ride at the fair!

Friday was a beautiful day and we went to a park, and had a picnic there! Zayden loves picnics as much as his mama, and Ivy seems to really enjoy it too. We had a nice lunch, and then played for about an hour at the park. After that, we took a walk along some paths near the park. It was a great day!!

Ivy LOVES any thrill seeking activity she can find including slides!

And Zayden is also becoming quite the dare-devil, and climbing up all kinds of things that scare me....especially when he is wearing oversized crocs. He climbed up this thing several times, and it is so tall, that when he is on the top bar, I can't even reach him....it's way over my head. eek!

Besides all the fun activities with the kids, the week has been very good for me. I was offered several jobs, and accepted one! I am really happy with the new job I will have that I start on September 21st. I will not be working with kids anymore, but I think I am ready for a change anyway. I will be doing home health with adults. The company is going to provide me a company car and laptop as well!! Woo hoo!! Benefits are good, and although the salary is the lowest of all the companies that offered me a job, it is still enough that I can easily work just 4 days (32 hours) and live comfortably with my kiddos. So I am ecstatic that I will still have one day a week (besides the weekend) home with them! I chose this position because it will allow me to create my own schedule and be very very flexible!! I am really excited about that as well!!

And on another happy note, I have lost FIVE pounds this week. I know that is a lot in one week, but I promise I have been eating. I just have been eating like a normal person and not the emotional eater I was. I am a very emotional eater....always snack/binge when I am upset, stressed, nervous. Well, the past 3 years I have been very emotional so all that babyweight has stuck on me. Now for the first time in a long time I feel happy and much healthier, so I am not doing all the emotional eating. Maybe now I can finally lose all that baby weight!! I also have this application on my iPhone that I use to keep track of calories and exercise, and it ROCKS. I have to say that was the other reason for the weight loss this week!!

So, YES, it has been a good week. I hope we continue to have many many more like this!!!